Feb. 12, 2006
Box Score
The Duquesne women's basketball team fell to Atlantic 10 newcomer Charlotte 79-72 Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
Forward Loui Hall (Masontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin) led the Dukes in scoring with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Forward Nicole Sinclair (Indiana, Pa/ Indiana HS) chipped in with 11 points to go along with seven rebounds while shooting guard Aiga Bautre (Riga, Latvia/ Catholic Central NY) added 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Kristi Little (Altoona, Pa./Altoona HS), who tied her career high with nine points, made a running layup to cut the lead to three with under a minute remaining in the half, but the rally could not be sustained. Late fouls put the Miners to the free throw line 32 times, converting on 23 of them. Duquesne only shot 13 free throws, making nine.
Charlotte (17-5 overall, 11-1 A10) came out in a tough man-to-man defense that forced Duquesne into 21 turnovers. That translated into eight points off of their fastbreak, but Duquesne hung around thanks to scrappy interior defense. The Dukes gave up 22 second chance points and 38 points in the paint.
Duquesne took an early lead thanks to missed outside shots by Charlotte - they went 6 for 20 in first 10 minutes including 0-for-7 from behind the arc. The Miners stayed alive in the first half by crashing the offensive boards, grabbing 15, and they outrebound the Dukes 27-15 for the half.
After Duquesne opened up a nine point lead, the miners went on an 8-0 run, bringing the game to within one, 23-22. Jocelyn Chandler broke a six minute scoring draught with a right wing jumper at the 5:40 mark in the first half. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half with no team taking more than a four point lead.
Charlotte's Sabrina Gregory gave her team the first lead of the game, 33-31 with under two minutes remaining, but Duquesne's Aiga Bautre hit a three to retake the lead 34-33. A layup by Hoey gave the Miners a one point lead with 34 second remaining in the half, which was only their second lead of the game.
A rebound and a stickback by Bautre gave the Dukes a 36-35 lead going into the half. Hall made her presence known inside connecting on 6-for-10 from the floor for 14 points in the first half.
The Dukes (9-14 overall, 4-8 A10) are back in action on Friday when they go on the road take on Fordham in Bronx, New York. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
--LD
